LA has a number of visitors centers . The downtown one is at 685 S Figueroa St (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat 8.30am-5pm; tel 213/689-8822, ); others, all open normal weekday working hours, are in Santa Monica at 1400 Ocean Ave (tel 310/393-7593, ); near Disneyland at 800 W Katella Ave (tel 714/999-8999, ); in Beverly Hills at 239 S Beverly Drive (tel 310/248-1015, ); and in Hollywood at Janes House, 6541 Hollywood Blvd (tel 323/689-8822). All supply free local maps , but you'd do better to spend $2.95 on Gousha Publications' fully indexed Los Angeles CityMap , available from machines in visitors centers and hotel lobbies.

For general delivery/poste restante, use the main downtown post office at 760 N Main St (Mon-Fri 8am-7pm, Sat 8am-4pm, pick up letters Mon-Fri 8am-3pm; zip code 90012; tel 1-800/275-8777).

Guided Tours

Some of your best bets for touring downtown and other spots are the two-and-one-half hour walking tours offered by the LA Conservancy (Sat 10am; $8; tel 213/623-CITY, ), which concentrate on various aspects of the city's architecture, history, murals and culture. If you'd rather take a ride, innumerable bus tours introduce the city, though only the specialists we list show you anything you couldn't see more cheaply yourself. Costs are $30 minimum; most will collect you from your hotel. The mainstream bus tours whiz you past the main sights and the homes of the stars (though you often don't see much more than the gate at the end of the driveway), padding out the experience with views of palm trees and wide boulevards. Operators include Casablanca Tours , at the Hollywood Roosevelt hotel, 6362 Hollywood Blvd (tel 323/461-0156, ), which focuses on the golden age of cinema; Tour Coach , 6922 Hollywood Blvd (tel 323/463-3333), which points out the houses of Marilyn Monroe, Barbra Streisand and Charlie Chaplin, and also runs shopping trips to the Mexican border town of Tijuana; and Hollywood Fantasy Tours , 6671 Hollywood Blvd (tel 323/469-8184), which shows off Beverly Hills and Hollywood only. Even if you don't call or drop by their offices, you can pick up a tour flyer or brochure by standing outside Mann's Chinese Theatre, 6925 Hollywood Blvd, where discarded advertisements litter the sidewalk.

Specialist tours
Black LA Tours tel 323/750-9267. Black historical and entertainment tours of once-famed Central Avenue and key African-American history museums and cultural attractions. The California Native 6701 W 87th Place (tel 310/642-1140 or...
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Shopping

You can buy virtually anything, anywhere, anytime in LA. The big department stores or the exclusive Rodeo Drive will have it if the ubiquitous run-of-the-mill retailers don't, and if all else fails try LA's massive malls , which often resemble self-contained city suburbs as much as shopping precincts. The antiseptic CityWalk mall at Universal Studios distills a dozen LA neighborhoods into cutout facades fronting all the national chain stores, complete with a sandy beach. At the central seven-acre Beverly Center , at Beverly and La Cienega boulevards, you'll find designer stores, fourteen cinemas and ample opportunities for star-spotting, all above a giant parking garage. Another local favorite is the Century City Mall , 10250 Santa Monica Blvd, Century City, aimed at middle-class and upscale - but unpretentious - buyers. West Hollywood and Melrose Avenue hold many of the city's trendier boutiques, but if you're after a first edition of Shirley MacLaine's autobiography, old movies stills or a rare Beatles "butcher cover" LP in mint condition, try one of the places we've listed.

Books
Acres of Books 240 Long Beach Blvd, Long Beach tel 562/437-6980. LA's largest, and most disorganized and confusing, secondhand collection - well worth a trip down the Blue Line. Book Soup 8818 Sunset Blvd, West Hollywood tel...
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Records
Aron's Records 1150 N Highland Ave, Hollywood tel 323/469-4700. One of the best places in LA for secondhand discs - huge stock, all styles, all prices. Moby Disc 28 E Colorado Blvd, Pasadena tel 626/449-9975. Secondhand and...
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